Lovingkindness

“The LXX was still close to the mark when it used eleos (mercy) as its preferred translation of hesed. The modern preference for words like ‘duty,’ ‘obligation,’ ‘loyalty,’ ‘solidarity,’ has the picture completely out of focus. Its worst effect has been to obscure the primal perpetual revelation of the Bible that God in his ultimate and eternal being is ‘gracious and sensitive, abundant in hesed‘ — ‘lovingkindness.’ The Old Testament is thus in perfect agreement with its New Testament consummation: ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:16).”